Fantastic bees and where to find them: locating the cryptic overwintering queens of a western bumble bee
Williams, Neal M. ; Mola, John M ; Stuligross, Clara ; Harrison, Tina ; Page, Maureen L ; Brennan, Ross M ; Rosenberger, Nick M and Rundlöf, Maj LU
(2019)
In Ecosphere
10(11).
- Abstract
- Bumble bees are among the best‐studied bee groups worldwide, yet surprisingly we know almost nothing about their overwintering habitats nor the microsite characteristics that govern selection of these sites. This gap represents a critical barrier for their conservation, especially if preferred overwintering habitats differ from foraging and nesting habitats. Current conservation plans focus on foraging habitat, potentially creating a problem of partial habitats where improved forage might fail to prevent population declines due to limited overwintering sites. We provide the first data on the overwintering habitat for any western North American bumble bee. Our data suggest that overwintering and foraging habitats are likely distinct, and... (More)
- Bumble bees are among the best‐studied bee groups worldwide, yet surprisingly we know almost nothing about their overwintering habitats nor the microsite characteristics that govern selection of these sites. This gap represents a critical barrier for their conservation, especially if preferred overwintering habitats differ from foraging and nesting habitats. Current conservation plans focus on foraging habitat, potentially creating a problem of partial habitats where improved forage might fail to prevent population declines due to limited overwintering sites. We provide the first data on the overwintering habitat for any western North American bumble bee. Our data suggest that overwintering and foraging habitats are likely distinct, and queens’ selection of overwintering sites may be shaped by environmental stressors of the year. In our study area, queens overwintered in litter beneath cypress trees, where no floral resources exist. Whether this separation of overwintering and foraging habitat holds for other bumble bee species remains to be discovered. Our data highlight the need to consider the whole life cycle for understanding population dynamics and conservation planning. This need is underscored by growing evidence for the decline of multiple North American bumble bee species. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8f635d66-202d-4b6d-af59-30e5969d6cf2
- author
- Williams, Neal M.
; Mola, John M
; Stuligross, Clara
; Harrison, Tina
; Page, Maureen L
; Brennan, Ross M
; Rosenberger, Nick M
and Rundlöf, Maj
LU
- publishing date
- 2019-11-20
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- in
- Ecosphere
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 11
- article number
- e02949
- pages
- 6 pages
- publisher
- Ecological Society of America
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85076336165
- ISSN
- 2150-8925
- DOI
- 10.1002/ecs2.2949
- project
- DEveloping Landscape Ecotoxicology in Terrestrial Ecosystems (DELETE): Pesticide Exposure and Effects on Bees
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 8f635d66-202d-4b6d-af59-30e5969d6cf2
- date added to LUP
- 2021-03-15 12:52:07
- date last changed
- 2022-04-19 05:01:47
@article{8f635d66-202d-4b6d-af59-30e5969d6cf2,
abstract = {{Bumble bees are among the best‐studied bee groups worldwide, yet surprisingly we know almost nothing about their overwintering habitats nor the microsite characteristics that govern selection of these sites. This gap represents a critical barrier for their conservation, especially if preferred overwintering habitats differ from foraging and nesting habitats. Current conservation plans focus on foraging habitat, potentially creating a problem of partial habitats where improved forage might fail to prevent population declines due to limited overwintering sites. We provide the first data on the overwintering habitat for any western North American bumble bee. Our data suggest that overwintering and foraging habitats are likely distinct, and queens’ selection of overwintering sites may be shaped by environmental stressors of the year. In our study area, queens overwintered in litter beneath cypress trees, where no floral resources exist. Whether this separation of overwintering and foraging habitat holds for other bumble bee species remains to be discovered. Our data highlight the need to consider the whole life cycle for understanding population dynamics and conservation planning. This need is underscored by growing evidence for the decline of multiple North American bumble bee species.}},
author = {{Williams, Neal M. and Mola, John M and Stuligross, Clara and Harrison, Tina and Page, Maureen L and Brennan, Ross M and Rosenberger, Nick M and Rundlöf, Maj}},
issn = {{2150-8925}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
number = {{11}},
publisher = {{Ecological Society of America}},
series = {{Ecosphere}},
title = {{Fantastic bees and where to find them: locating the cryptic overwintering queens of a western bumble bee}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2949}},
doi = {{10.1002/ecs2.2949}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2019}},
}